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Christian Avery Field
In November 2007, famous New York theatre producer/director Terrence Applewhite introduced his first boyfriend to his grown children, Rodney and Fiona. Much to their dismay, Christian Avery Field was an aspiring actor who stood to gain a lot professionally from being in a relationship with their father, and Christian also happened to be younger than both of them! Joining the Applewhites It had been a year since Terrence came out of the closet to his wife Emma, and she abandoned the family, leaving town under a cloud of humiliation, not to be seen since. Rod and Fiona came to terms with the change to their family, and even accepted their father's late-in-life coming out of the closet. But one thing Rod in particular couldn't accept was his father's new young boy toy. No sooner had they met Christian did they learn he was moving into the family brownstone! Christian knew it would be difficult for Rod and Fiona to accept probably any man romantically involved with their father, especially with such a startling age difference. While Christian resolved to prove his genuine love for Terrence to his protective children, Rod made a personal vow to prove Christian was out to use his father. Living under the same roof proved challenging for Rod and Christian who continued to find themselves at odds. Christian stumbled upon a fresh-from-the-shower Rodney, which Rod was certain was no accident, and Rod hired private investigator Rachel Marks to dig up information on the mysterious Christian. Rachel turned up proof that Christian, who spent years in the foster care system, was officially adopted by the Fields only for them to die in a car accident once the adoption was finalized. Rod felt this was proof Christian was a user, and exposed the painful past at Thanksgiving dinner, but Christian explained how it was the worst day of his life because he blamed himself for their deaths. Christian chose to come out of the closet to the Fields to feel closer to them, causing them to lose control of the car because of their surprise. What's more, Terrence knew the truth about the Fields' death already, which made Rod look purely vindictive. Consumed with Christian Rod transferred from his bartending job at The Redeye to a managing job at Eleanor Halperin's other establishment, Large Bar, which catered to a gay clientele, to keep an eye on Christian and get to know him better. Rod was furious on New Years Eve when Terrence announced Christian would star as the lead in 2008's new production of Angels in America! Rod was certain this was the next step in Christian's plan to achieve stardom, and Rod redoubled his efforts to protect his father. On Valentine's Day, Rod learned Christian and Terrence were headed to the Applewhite cabin for some snowbound romance, so Rod whisked his long-time girlfriend (and Eleanor's daughter) Crystal up to the cabin to beat his father to the punch and nix their plans for the romantic getaway. Christian and Terrence ended up stranded on the road in a snowstorm before making it to the cabin, so they enjoyed the romance of it anyway, but when they made it to the cabin they walked in on Rod having sex with Crystal, with Rod mistakenly shouting out Christian's name in the heat of passion! Crystal became concerned with Rod's growing obsession with his father's romance and the growing distance between them as a result. Terrence and Christian only grew closer, since they were living together and working together on Angels in America. Before operating hours at Large Bar, Christian and Rod were taken hostage by two masked gunmen who were in search of something in particular. Though terrified, when Christian and Rod tried to get the jump on the gunmen, Rod was accidentally shot, and the gunmen fled in a panic. A New Leaf The shooting did bond Rod and Christian, and as Rod recovered he started to give Christian the benefit of the doubt about Christian's love for Terrence. The new non-hostile connection between Rod and Christian left Crystal feeling unsettled and excluded. Not long after, one of the masked gunmen, Dominic Soletti, turned up on the doorstep of the Applewhite brownstone -- he was Christian's foster brother for years when they were young! Terrence took Dominic in at the brownstone, since Fiona was moving out to her own apartment, and Terrence and Christian helped Dominic get a job at Large Bar since Dom was new in town. Dom, unbeknownst to Christian or anyone, worked for Henry and Leo Von Stadt, the men who ran Von Stadt International, and Dom was on a mission to find some hidden evidence that could expose VSI's illegal business activities! Dom also thought Large Bar was a perfect place to sell some of VSI's designer drugs to the partying patrons! Dom sold drugs to a vulnerable Eddie Dawson, who headlined at Large Bar as drag personality Aurora Borealis. It was Eddie's continued drug use that ended up compromising Terrence's stage production of Angels in America (in which Eddie was also starring), causing the show to shut down not long after opening night. As time went on, Rod began to trust Christian's love for Terrence more and more, and Terrence got past the lingering insecurities he had about being with the much-younger man. Rod also became much more comfortable working in the middle of the gay nightlife scene, working shirtless, doing on-stage stripteases during karaoke performances, and enjoying after hours talks with Christian late into the night, all of which worried Crystal, who felt her boyfriend gradually slipping away from her. Devastating Diagnosis Terrence couldn't shake what appeared to be a common cold, but a standard check-up at the hospital revealed Terrence had been living with AIDS for years, and been completely asymptomatic up until now. But since the virus had so much time in Terrence's system, his doctor revealed he now only had months left to live. Terrence struggled with his diagnosis and how to tell Christian and his children. Christian was the first to uncover the truth and was devastated. Terrence was relieved, however, when Christian tested negative for HIV. Rod and Fiona both took the news particularly hard, and reacted in their own ways, Fiona clinging to Terrence tightly, Rod distancing himself from his father. Dom felt Christian should leave Terrence, as he didn't sign up for caring for an old dying man. Christian refused to abandon Terrence, the man he loved. As Terrence had to accept the short time he had left, he resolved to make the most of it, and asked Christian to marry him. Fiona graciously congratulated her father, but Rod still struggled with his father's mortality, and couldn't see himself attending a wedding between his father and Christian. Terrence and Christian planned to marry in Canada, where their union would be legal, and ultimately Rod attended the wedding to support his father, at Fiona's urging. Upon the wedding party's return to New York, Terrence's condition rapidly deteriorated, and Terrence lived out his last days surrounded by his children, Christian, and his friends before finally succumbing to AIDS in September 2008. Grief Sex & Unplanned Pregnancy Terrence's death, though not a surprise, still sent shockwaves through his family and nearly broke Rodney. Rod pushed Crystal and everyone away in his grief, but after Terrence's funeral Christian was able to get Rod to admit to his pain. In deep mourning, and desperate to connect to some part of Terrence that he left behind in each of them, Rod and Christian's complex emotions exploded in unexpected, passionate love-making! Christian was wracked with guilt over what he felt was a betrayal of Terrence's memory, while Rod felt curious about his new emotions and wanted to continue to explore what it all meant. Christian wanted to leave town to try to escape his pain over Terrence's death and what happened with Rod, but Rod convinced Christian to at least stay for the will reading. In Terrence's will, he left Christian the brownstone, to make sure Christian had a real home, and made Rod and Christian equal partners in Terrence's production company, hoping they'd collaborate on future projects together since they'd been getting along better in Terrence's final months! Search for Roots Christian wanted nothing from Terrence's estate and convinced Dominic to run away with him, which took them on a road trip to uncover their biological roots! Christian and Dominic broke into a records office in search of their old files from foster care, hoping there would be clues about their births. A fire broke out, which hospitalized Christian, but not before learning that Evan Royale, the attorney that Fiona works for, and representation for Von Stadt International, may hold the key to the truth about Christian and Dom's backgrounds. Rod shocked Christian by arriving at the hospital, and convinced Christian to return to New York and take their exploration of their feelings for each other one day at a time, while Rod vowed to help Christian uncover his roots. Back home, Fiona discovered Crystal was pregnant! Before Crystal could tell Rod the truth about her pregnancy, Rod broke Crystal's heart by confessing to "kissing" Christian, and wanting to explore his feelings for him. Crystal exploded, and privately vowed not to allow Rod to be a part of his child's life. Crystal turned to Trevor Allen, who'd been working with her as her talent manager as Crystal wanted to jumpstart a singing career, and begged him to claim paternity of Crystal's baby. Feeling sympathy for Crystal's situation, and hoping to access Crystal's hefty inheritance after a wedding, Trevor agreed to help her by crafting an elaborate story about their affair and conception of the baby. As soon as Rod learned of Crystal's pregnancy, he was certain the child was his and didn't believe Trevor Allen's lies for a moment. Crystal, still reeling with heartbreak over Rod's betrayal, stuck to her story and rushed to marry Trevor by New Years 2009! Finding Father Rod had hired attorney Evan Royale to bring a paternity suit against Crystal, while hoping to get close enough to obtain the sealed records Evan had pertaining to Christian's birth. As Christian started to work through his guilt over his growing feelings for Rod, their connection deepened, and Rod managed to copy crucial files from Evan's computer in the hopes of learning the truth about Christian's background. Though Rod couldn't stop Crystal's wedding to Trevor, Rod did successfully crack open Evan's secret files, which not only named Christian's biological father as Evan Royale himself, but also tied Evan to countless other adopted and foster children! Fiona was disgusted to learn that her boss Evan had fathered numerous children with various women over the years and managed to get all his biological children given up at birth and put into foster care or placed with adoptive families. What's worse, another one of Evan's "lost" children was none other than Trevor Allen! Meaning Rod's new enemy was actually Christian's half-brother! Category:Characters